Adrian Dix

The Honourable
Adrian Dix
MLA
Minister of Health of British Columbia
Assumed office
July 18, 2017
Premier John Horgan
Preceded by Mary Polak
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Vancouver-Kingsway
Assumed office
May 17, 2005
Preceded by Rob Nijjar
Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
In office
April 17, 2011 – May 4, 2014
Preceded by Dawn Black
Succeeded by John Horgan
Leader of the
British Columbia New Democratic Party
In office
April 17, 2011 – May 4, 2014
Preceded by Dawn Black
Succeeded by John Horgan
Personal details
Born (1964-04-20) April 20, 1964
Vancouver, British Columbia
Political party New Democrat
Spouse(s) Renée Saklikar
Occupation Politician

Adrian Dix (born April 20, 1964)[1] is a Canadian politician, serving as the MLA for Vancouver-Kingsway in British Columbia and the current Minister of Health. He has also served as the leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party from 2011-2014.[2] He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2005 provincial election. Dix's decision in 2013 to be replaced as leader came following the party's disappointing result in the May 2013 provincial election which the NDP lost despite a 20-point lead in the polls prior to the election campaign.[3]

Personal life

Adrian Dix was born in Vancouver, to parents Ken and Hilda, immigrants from Ireland and Britain, respectively. His parents ran the Dix Insurance Agency Ltd. on West 41st Avenue in Vancouver until 2011 when his father retired and sold the business.[4] Growing up in Vancouver, Dix was raised as an Anglican and attended both St. George's School and Point Grey Secondary. He then went on to study history and political science at the University of British Columbia. Dix has two siblings and currently lives in Vancouver with his wife Renée Saklikar, a poet and writer.[5] Dix was diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes in his 20s.[4]

Career

Fluently bilingual, Dix lived in France as a young man and then worked in Ottawa for NDP MP Ian Waddell.

Chief of Staff

He served as Chief of Staff to BC Premier Glen Clark from 1996 to 1999, a position from which he was dismissed for back-dating a memo to protect Clark from conflict-of-interest charges.[6] Dix has said of this incident, "It was wrong, it was wrong. I'm out there and I've admitted it and people will judge. But I'm not trying to hide my mistake."[7] This memo would later become a focus of a number of opposition BC Liberal Party ads in the 2013 provincial election.[8]

Subsequently, he went on to work as the executive director of Canadian Parents for French in their B.C./Yukon branch. The Vancouver Sun summarized his work in this position as "successfully encouraging more school boards to offer French immersion programs."[4]

Political commentator

From 2001 to 2005 Dix was a political commentator in various media, writing a column for the Victoria Times-Colonist and The Source, a prominent intercultural newspaper in Vancouver. He was also a contributor to The Tyee[9] and the CBC.[10]

Member of the Legislative Assembly

Since 2005, Dix has served as the MLA for Vancouver-Kingsway. He first served as the opposition critic for Children and Families and then served as the Health critic.[11] As MLA, he cites among his achievements "bringing insulin pumps to children with Type 1 diabetes and his work on a successful campaign to stop three schools from being closed in Vancouver-Kingsway."[12]

Election results (partial)

British Columbia general election, 2017: Vancouver-Kingsway
Party Candidate Votes%
New DemocraticAdrian Dix10,62060.07
LiberalTrang Nguyen4,89127.67
GreenEllisa Calder1,6459.31
ConservativeCharles Bae4462.52
Your Political PartyBrette Mullins760.43
Total valid votes 17,678100.00
Source: Elections BC[13]
British Columbia general election, 2005: Vancouver-Kingsway
Party Candidate Votes%Expenditures
New DemocraticAdrian Dix10,03851.44$84,411
LiberalRob Nijjar7,89440.46$115,864
GreenStuart Mackinnon1,2126.21$4,556
MarijuanaSteven Mackenzie Lay2191.12$100
People's FrontDonna Petersen770.39$103
SexYvonne Maylynne Tink730.37$100
Total Valid Votes 19,513100
Total Rejected Ballots 2391.22
Turnout 19,75254.19

2011 NDP leadership race

The last candidate to publicly launch his leadership bid, Dix campaigned on a platform of eliminating the HST, rolling back reductions in the corporate tax rate, supporting the redirection of carbon tax revenue to pay for public transit and infrastructure that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, supporting an increase in the minimum wage rate to $10 per hour, creating a provincial child care system, restoring grants to the post-secondary students, reducing interest on student loans, and restoring the corporation capital tax on financial institutions.[14][15][16]

His candidacy was endorsed by former interim BC NDP leader Joy MacPhail, amongst others.[17]

Dix led throughout the voting, narrowly defeating rival Mike Farnworth on the third and final ballot with 51.8% of the vote.[18]

Results

Candidate First ballot Second ballot Third ballot
VotesPercentVotesPercentVotesPercent
Adrian Dix7,63838.2%7,74839.3%9,77251.8%
Mike Farnworth6,97934.9%6,95135.2%9,09548.2%
John Horgan4,84424.2%5,03425.5%
Dana Larsen5312.7%

2013 British Columbia provincial election

Nearly all polls showed the NDP well ahead of the BC Liberals going into the 2013 election, with at least one showing the NDP ahead by as much as 20 points. Two months prior to the election, The Province newspaper's front page featured a column by pundit Michael Smyth with the banner headline: "If This Man Kicked A Dog He Would Still Win The Election."[19] However, in a result that shocked the party and political pundits, the BC Liberals won a fourth majority government.[20][21][22] The BC NDP won 34 seats, one fewer than in 2009.

Dix announced on September 18, 2013 that he would resign as party leader once a new leader (John Horgan) would be chosen in 2014. He also announced his intention to run for re-election as an MLA in the next provincial election.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Lee, Jeff (April 10, 2013). "Election battle rages on Wikipedia". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved April 10, 2013. His birthday is April 20, 1964, not April 26
  2. ↑ "Dix clinches leadership of BC NDP". The Globe and Mail, April 17, 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Adrian Dix resigns as B.C. NDP Leader". Globe and Mail. September 18, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 Todd, Douglas (February 19, 2012). "NDP Leader Adrian Dix unveiled". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  5. ↑ Smith, Charlie (October 17, 2012). "Poet Renée Sarojini Saklikar remembers the murdered children of Air India Flight 182". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  6. ↑ Knight, Leo. "Spin doctoring can't save Clark and the NDP", North Shore News, August 25, 1999.
  7. ↑ Mason, Gary (November 1, 2012). "The Fall and Rise of Adrian Dix". Vancouver Magazine. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Editorial: Dix's political past is completely fair game". The Province. March 13, 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  9. ↑ Bio at The Tyee
  10. ↑ Bio, Adrian Dix, NDP website Archived January 31, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ↑ MacLeod, Andrew (April 20, 2011). "'I Own Memo Mistake' Says Dix, Pointing to His Record Since". The Tyee. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  12. ↑ Smith, Charlie (March 4, 2011). "NDP's Adrian Dix says he's a candidate of substance, whereas Christy Clark only offers style". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  13. ↑ "2017 Provincial General Election Preliminary Voting Results". Elections BC. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  14. ↑ Hunter, Justine (February 2, 2011). "B.C. NDP's Dix tax proposal takes a big bite out of big business". Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Former Comox Valley MLA Gillespie backing Dix' leadership bid". Comox Valley Record. Courtenay. March 15, 2011. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
  16. ↑ Bailey, Ian (February 22, 2011). "B.C. NDP candidate calls for tax on banks". Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
  17. ↑ Thomson, Stephen (January 27, 2011). "Joy MacPhail backs Adrian Dix for B.C. NDP leadership". The Georgia Straight. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  18. ↑ "Adrian Dix wins B.C. NDP leadership". CBC News. April 17, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  19. ↑ Logan, Nick (15 May 2013). "'Everyone was wrong': Pollster predictions way off mark in B.C. election". Global News. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  20. ↑ Ferry, Jon (May 15, 2013). "Jobs, tax fears win out as Liberal victory proves pundits wrong". The Province. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  21. ↑ Fowlie, Jonathan (May 15, 2013). "Liberals pull off stunning B.C. win, form majority government". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  22. ↑ Hébert, Chantal (May 15, 2013). "NDP across Canada must be mourning stunning B.C. election loss". The Star. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
British Columbia Provincial Government of John Horgan
Cabinet post (1)
Predecessor Office Successor
Mary Polak Minister of Health
July 18, 2017–		 Incumbent
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